Fox News questions Beck's gold promotion
December 14, 2009 7:44 am ET by Media Matters staff
From a December 13 New York Times report:
Joel Cheatwood, the senior vice president of development for Fox News, said the network's legal department had recently sent a letter to Mr. Beck's representatives "seeking clarification" about his work for Goldline.
"They sent back word that he is not a paid spokesman," Mr. Cheatwood said, adding that it would be "problematic without question" if Mr. Beck did have a position as a paid spokesman for a product.
Fox News released a statement outlining its official policy about such issues: "Fox News prohibits any on-air talent from endorsing products or serving as a product spokesperson."
Fox News stressed that it was not aware that Mr. Beck was listed on the Internet as a paid spokesman. But he definitely was, until very recently. On cached editions of the Goldline Web site over the last week to 10 days, a photograph of Mr. Beck was accompanied by an asterisk which led to a line at the bottom of the site that read: "paid spokesman."
[...]
Matthew Hiltzik, a spokesman for Mr. Beck, said the host should never have been listed as a "paid spokesman" because he did not receive separate fees beyond the sponsorship for that or any other work he did for the company.
Before he moved onto Fox News, however, Mr. Beck appeared in a video on the Goldline Web site extolling the virtues of gold. And Mr. Beck routinely reads Goldline ads on the radio, a practice Fox said was acceptable under its guidelines.
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Gawd, I HATE that joke!
Sounds to me like they are trying to blur the lines of what "spokesman" is so that Beck can continue doing what he does best, and that is lie.
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The Midnight Review
Why would the senior vice president of development for Fox News (or rather the legal department at the network) "seek clarification" about beck's work for Goldline, when beck is an employee of their's (Fox's), and they could just him?
It doesn't make sense that they wouldn't directly ask their own employee about this matter, unless the management at Fox News just assumed beck would lie to them, which makes sense.
Also, where the Fox guy Cheatwood said that it would be "problematic without question" if Mr. Beck did have a position as a paid spokesman for a product, doesn't he really mean it would be "problematic" only if such a relationship became public, as indeed it has?
What a charade... what more would you expect from these media hacks, other than deception and denial?
It's because the lie that is then told, makes those "representatives" the liar, and not beck himself.
What's the point of even having "representatives" (or lawyers), if they won't fall on your sword when you tell them to.
It's a convenient evasion to being called a liar or a perjurer, to have one's lawyer or "representative" lie for them.
1/ check the internet site THEMSELVES?
2/ ask Goldline for verification?
3/ ask Beck for a written statement about his affiliation to Goldline AND any and all payments he has received?
If they REALLY wanted to cover their a$$ that's exactly what they would do.
So, with a publicly sought 'clarification', perhaps this was a shot across Glenn's bows, so to speak. Mr. Murdoch warning him to play by the rules or hit the road. Ratings are down for Glenn, and sponsors have basically deserted him in droves. It must be getting awfully expensive to keep him on the air. I think I know what I want for Christmas...
What difference does it make, why shoud any one care?
Interesting wording.
It's not a stretch of the imagination to read this as, "Beck is paid for sponsoring the company."